How a $1150 investment in video can be a game changer for your marketing

Video content will go main-stream and its rise is one of the more predictable trends in 2014. According to a recent Forbes Study, 75% of CEOs said they watch work-related videos on business-related websites at least weekly.

You can see evidence of this video explosion throughout the marketing world. Short form content platforms like Vine and Instagram, who only arrived on the scene in 2013, now boast around 200 million users between them. According to Cisco Visual Networking Index Forecast, by 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic. Video-on-demand traffic alone will have almost trebled.

The rise of video marketing by the numbers

The data is clear: The visual web domination is a trend that is going to stay, and analysts have cited several important micro-trends associated with short-form video content over the past year or so. Here are some data trends highlighting the vast potential of video marketing:

90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.

More than 4 billion online videos are watched every day

Sixty-eight percent of video watchers share video links

After 72 hours, a typical person can retain about 10% of text that they’ve read, 65% of an image they’ve seen, but 95% of a video they watched

40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text

Posts with videos attract 3 times more inbound links than plain text posts

Viewers are 85% more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video

As you can see, when it comes to potential reach, the video is peerless. But what about conversion and engagement? This is where the real promise of video marketing emerges.

Video content needs clear goals

Simply beginning filming is not enough to allow your firm to reap the real benefits of video marketing. To make video work effectively in your company, you need is clearly defined goals, an execution plan, and continual optimization to justify ROI.

The three goals of video marketing

When it comes to video marketing the three main goals are:

Conversion and traffic

Brand awareness

Engagement

With these goals in mind, you can begin to build out your video marketing tactics.

Kick start your video production for $1150

Given the above numbers, most marketers understand that video marketing, in theory, and are easily convinced that adding this content strategy is critical to their overall marketing mix. The challenges begin to pile up at step two: How do we create a process to create videos and execute our goals?

The first question many marketers may ask is how much does it cost? Because this is the first time most marketers will purchase video equipment, many In-house staff will errantly assume they can’t afford to make videos ourselves. In fact, to get started all you need is:

Camcorder – $500

Tripod – $50

Lapel microphone set – $100

Lighting rig – $500

For those with a calculator, that means that your new in-house video production will take just $1150 and some creative thinking.

There are also a host of resources to help your team learn the skills to produce online video. Here are some of my favorite online resources online:

The one of the biggest myths about driving conversions through videos is that YouTube is the key to driving conversions.

The challenge with depending on the YouTube channel is that YouTube will drive traffic to YouTube, and not your website where conversion should ultimately occur. Further, click-through rates for videos on YouTube are relatively low, roughly 1% according to MarketingCharts. Rather than using YouTube to drive conversion, think about using your YouTube channel to build your brand awareness.

Because your website houses all your other company information and lead generation forms, adding video content directly your website will net much better conversion results.

Here are some of the tactics you can consider driving conversion and traffic:

Use videos in landing pages to prompt a form submission

Use videos in product pages

Include transcriptions in the HTML

Ensure you get rich snippets

Use a paid hosting solution, like – Brightcove, Wistia, Vidyard etc.

Create and submit a video sitemap

Use call to actions to guide views to the specific action you want them to take

If you have a newsletter, an optional email gate on your latest video can prompt subscription to that channel before viewers gain access to full-version content.

Tweak your email marketing by adding an embedded video or adding a screenshot that people can click and it leads them to a video/thought leadership asset on your website.

Make sure your links go to your site and not the hosting platform

Restrict visibility on the hosting platform

Go for social video advertising via paid social video campaigns. This tactic encompasses three hottest trends in digital marketing: Social, mobile, and video. With Facebook’s new video ad platform, and twitter ascertaining the importance of video in their strategy, I expect to see rising results from the social video strategy.

Ultimately, the channel you select to host your video will depend on your firm’s goals. If your priority is driving traffic and conversions to your website then make sure you host the content securely. If, instead, you want your videos to be seen everywhere to drive brand awareness, then certainly you should post them on YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

Video: Just Do It!

Whatever your video priorities, the key is to get started. According to Kantar Media, just 24% of national brands are currently using online video as a part of their marketing mix, which means your fledgling video production capabilities will spell a huge competitive advantage for 2014.

Once you have your video process in place, then you can begin to measure, analyze and use your insights to improve your processes. Creating great content online is a continual learning experience. Listen to what your audience wants, pay attention to their viewing habits, and then work towards personalizing your content to target your audience at the exact right time, through the exact right channel.